Short-range radio communication devices are increasingly utilized to provide a convenient means of interacting with elements in a computer data center. It is becoming common place to have built-in antennae in every element installed in a rack of equipment. Users interact with these antennae by bringing a handheld device within communication range of the antenna location. When densely packed, the zones where antennae will pair with the handheld device often overlap, resulting in situations where the handheld device pairs with an antenna unintended by the end user. To avoid this problem, two techniques are primarily utilized. In one technique, the wireless devices are physically placed at a sufficient distance from one another so that it avoids the overlapping communication zones altogether. However, there is a drawback of this technique, that it constrains the physical space and the achievable density of installed radios in a container.
The second technique is to have the wireless devices require some form of activation automatically or at a user's request so that user is able to control which wireless device is active at a given moment. However, this technique also has a drawback, as the user has to go through an additional activation step prior to exchanging data over wireless communication channel which may be cumbersome at scale.
Another alternative for interference avoidance is the use of high-power wireless devices with fewer antennae in overall solution. This technique, however, may be less desirable than others as it requires some form of aggregation infrastructure which generally does not exist. It may also require deactivation of pre-installed antennae in equipment installed in the rack.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a solution to detect overlapping airspace situations and to trigger automatic or user assisted remediation.